Search Results (11,182)

The global cement industry remains a significant contributor to carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, prompting substantial research efforts toward sustainable construction materials. Lithium slag (LS), a by-product of lithium extraction, has attracted attention as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM). This review synthesizes experimental findings on LS replacement levels, fresh-state behavior, mechanical performance (compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths), time-dependent deformation (shrinkage and creep), and durability (sulfate, acid, abrasion, and thermal) of LS-modified concretes. Statistical analysis identifies an optimal LS dosage of 20–30% (average 24%) for maximizing compressive strength and long-term durability, with 40% as a practical upper limit for tensile and flexural performance. Fresh-state tests show that workability losses at high LS content can be mitigated via superplasticizers. Drying shrinkage and creep strains decrease in a dose-dependent manner with up to 30% LS. High-volume (40%) LS blends achieve up to an 18% gain in 180-day compressive strength and >30% reduction in permeability metrics. Under elevated temperatures, 20% LS mixes retain up to 50% more residual strength than controls. In advanced systems—autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), one-part geopolymers, and recycled aggregate composites—LS further enhances both microstructural densification and durability. In particular, LS emerges as a versatile SCM that optimizes mechanical and durability performance, supports material circularity, and reduces the carbon footprint. Full article

Infection control and bleeding management in deep wounds remain urgent and unmet clinical challenges that demand innovative, multifunctional, and sustainable solutions. Unlike previously reported sodium alginate and silk fibroin-based gel formulations, the present work introduces a dual-functional system combining antimicrobial and haemostatic activity in the form of conformable aerogel beads. This dual-functional formulation is designed to absorb exudate, promote clotting, and provide localized antimicrobial action, all essential for accelerating wound repair in high-risk scenarios within a single biocompatible system. Aerogel beads were obtained by supercritical drying of a silk fibroin–sodium alginate blend, resulting in highly porous, spherical structures measuring 3–4 mm in diameter. The formulations demonstrated efficient ciprofloxacin encapsulation (42.75–49.05%) and sustained drug release for up to 12 h. Fluid absorption reached up to four times their weight in simulated wound fluid and was accompanied by significantly enhanced blood clotting, outperforming a commercial haemostatic dressing. These findings highlight the potential of silk-based aerogel beads as a multifunctional wound healing platform that combines localized antimicrobial delivery, efficient fluid and exudate management, biodegradability, and superior haemostatic performance in a single formulation. This work also shows for the first time how the prilling encapsulation technique with supercritical drying is able to successfully produce silk fibroin and sodium alginate composite aerogel beads. Full article

Agriculture is the backbone of Punjab’s economy, and with much of India’s population dependent on agriculture, the requirement for accurate and timely monitoring of land has become even more crucial. Blending remote sensing with state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms enables the detailed classification of agricultural lands through thematic mapping, which is critical for crop monitoring, land management, and sustainable development. Here, a Hyper-tuned Deep Neural Network (Hy-DNN) model was created and used for land use and land cover (LULC) classification into four classes: agricultural land, vegetation, water bodies, and built-up areas. The technique made use of multispectral data from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8, processed on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. To measure classification performance, Hy-DNN was contrasted with traditional classifiers—Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Random Forest (RF), Classification and Regression Tree (CART), Minimum Distance Classifier (MDC), and Naive Bayes (NB)—using performance metrics including producer’s and consumer’s accuracy, Kappa coefficient, and overall accuracy. Hy-DNN performed the best, with overall accuracy being 97.60% using Sentinel-2 and 91.10% using Landsat-8, outperforming all base models. These results further highlight the superiority of the optimised Hy-DNN in agricultural land mapping and its potential use in crop health monitoring, disease diagnosis, and strategic agricultural planning. Full article

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) is eroding therapeutic options for urinary tract infections. We isolated a multidrug-resistant strain from the urine of a chronically bacteriuric patient and confirmed its identity by Vitek-2 and MALDI-TOF MS. Initial disk-diffusion profiling against 48 antibiotics revealed susceptibility to only 5 agents. One month later, repeat testing showed that tetracycline alone remained active, highlighting the strain’s rapidly evolving resistome. Given the scarcity of drug options, we performed an “aromatogram” with seven pure essential oils, propolis, and two commercial phytotherapeutic blends. Biomicin Forte^® produced a 30 mm bactericidal halo, while thyme, tea tree, laurel, and palmarosa oils yielded clear inhibition zones of 11–22 mm. These in vitro data demonstrate that carefully selected plant-derived products can target CR-Kp where conventional antibiotics fail. Integrating aromatogram results into One Health’s stewardship plans may therefore help preserve last-line antibiotics and provide adjunctive options for persistent urinary infections. Full article

Enhancing the nutritional content of crops is crucial for safeguarding human health and mitigating global hunger. A viable method for attaining this goal is the planned implementation of various agronomic practices, including tillage and nutrient provision. A field experiment was executed at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Gödöllő in the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. The study aimed to assess the effects of foliar nutrient supply and soil tillage methods on the grain nutritional composition and mineral content of winter barley. Employing a split-plot design with three replications, the experiment included four nutrient treatments (control, bio-cereal, bio-algae, and MgSMnZn blend) and two soil tillage types (i.e., plowing and cultivator). The results indicated that while protein content was not influenced by the main effects of nutrients and tillage, the levels of β-glucan, starch, crude ash, and moisture content were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the nutrient treatments and by growing year, treated as a random factor. Notably, bio-algae and bio-cereal nutrients, combined with cultivator tillage, enhanced β-glucan content. All applied nutrient treatments increased the level of starch compared to the control. With regard to grain mineral content, the iron and zinc content responded to the nutrient supply, tillage, and growing year. However, applying a multiple-nutrient composition-based treatment did not increase iron and zinc levels, suggesting that individual applications may be more effective for increasing the content of these minerals in grains. Cultivator tillage improved iron and zinc levels. Moreover, manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) were predominantly affected by nutrient availability and by growing seasons as a random factor. Therefore, to improve grain quality, this study emphasizes the significance of proper nutrient and tillage methods by focusing on the intricate relationships between agronomic techniques and environmental factors that shape barley’s nutritional profile. Full article

The development of active food packaging has evolved rapidly in recent years, offering innovative solutions to enhance food preservation and safety while addressing sustainability challenges. This review compiles and analyzes recent advancements (2019–2024) in release-type active packaging, focusing on essential oils, natural extracts, and phenolic compounds as active agents. Primarily plant-derived, these compounds exhibit significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, extending shelf life and enhancing food quality. Technological strategies such as encapsulation and polymer blending have been increasingly adopted to overcome challenges related to volatility, solubility, and sensory impact. Integrating bio-based polymers, including chitosan, starch, and polylactic acid, further supports the development of environmentally friendly packaging systems. This review also highlights trends in compound-specific research, release mechanisms, and commercial applications, including a detailed analysis of patents and case studies across various food matrices. These developments have already been translated into practical applications, such as antimicrobial sachets for meat and essential oil-based pads for fresh produce. Moreover, by promoting the valorization of agro-industrial by-products and the use of biodegradable materials, emission-type active packaging contributes to the principles of the circular economy. This comprehensive overview underscores the potential of natural bioactive compounds in advancing sustainable and functional food packaging technologies. Full article

In this study, multicomponent PLA-based biocomposites were developed. In particular, both native fibrous cellulose and cellulose with modified morphology obtained through ball milling treatments were incorporated into the polyester matrix in combination with an oligomeric plasticizer, specifically a lactic acid oligomer (OLA). The resulting materials were analyzed in terms of their morphology, thermal and mechanical properties over time, water vapor permeability, and degradation under soil burial conditions in comparison to neat PLA and unplasticized PLA/cellulose composites. The cellulose phase significantly affected the mechanical properties and enhanced their long-term stability, addressing a common limitation of PLA/plasticizer blends. Additionally, water vapor permeability increased in all composites. Finally, the ternary systems exhibited a significantly higher degradation rate in soil burial conditions compared to PLA, evidenced by larger weight loss and reduction in the molecular weight of the PLA phase. The degradation rate was notably influenced by the morphology of the cellulose phase. Full article

Restaurants and open markets generate considerable quantities of organic waste. Converting these residues into poultry feed ingredients offers a sustainable disposal route. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and sensory viability of a novel feed complement formulated from Bonito fish meal (Sarda chiliensis chiliensis) and Única potato peel flour (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Única). This study was conducted in three phases: (i) production and nutritional characterization of the two by-product flours; (ii) formulation of a 48:52 (w/w) blend, incorporated into broiler diets at 15%, 30%, and 45% replacement levels over a 7-week trial divided into starter (3 weeks), grower (3 weeks), and finisher (1 week) phases; and (iii) assessment of growth performance (weight gain, final weight, and feed conversion ratio), followed by a sensory evaluation of the resulting meat using a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) analysis. The Bonito fish meal exhibited 50.78% protein, while the Única potato peel flour was rich in carbohydrates (74.08%). The final body weights of broiler chickens ranged from 1872.1 to 1886.4 g across treatments, and the average feed conversion ratio across all groups was 0.65. Replacing up to 45% of commercial feed with the formulated complement did not significantly affect growth performance (p > 0.05). Sensory analysis revealed that meat from chickens receiving 15% and 45% substitution levels was preferred in terms of aroma and taste, whereas the control group was rated higher in appearance. These findings suggest that the formulated feed complement may represent a viable poultry-feed alternative with potential sensory and economic benefits, supporting future circular-economy strategies. Full article

We introduce I-fp convergence (ideal convergence in fuzzy paranormed spaces) and develop its core theory, including stability results and an equivalence to $I^{*}$-fp convergence under the AP Property. Building on this foundation, we design an adaptive base-stock policy for a single-echelon inventory system in which weekly demand is expressed as triangular fuzzy numbers while holiday or promotion weeks are treated as ideal-small anomalies. The policy is updated by a simple learning rule that can be implemented in any spreadsheet, requires no optimisation software, and remains insensitive to tuning choices. Extensive simulation confirms that the method simultaneously lowers cost, reduces average inventory and raises service level relative to a crisp benchmark, all while filtering sparse demand spikes in a principled way. These findings position I-fp convergence as a lightweight yet rigorous tool for blending linguistic uncertainty with anomaly-aware decision making in supply-chain analytics. Full article

Rising volumes of textile waste necessitate the development of more efficient recycling systems, with a primary focus on the optimization of sorting technologies. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a state-of-the-art method for fiber identification; however, its accuracy in quantifying textile blends, particularly common polyester/cotton blend textiles, still requires refinement. This study explores the potential and limitations of NIR spectroscopy for quantifying cotton content in post-consumer textiles. A lab-scale NIR sorter and a handheld NIR spectrometer in complementary wavelength ranges were applied to a diverse range of post-consumer textile samples to test model accuracies. Results show that the commonly assumed 10% accuracy threshold in industrial sorting can be exceeded, especially when excluding textiles with <35% cotton content. Identifying and excluding the range of non-linearity significantly improved the model’s performance. The final models achieved an RMSEP of 6.6% and bias of −0.9% for the NIR sorter and an RMSEP of 3.1% and bias of −0.6% for the handheld NIR spectrometer. This study also assessed how textile characteristics—such as color, structure, product type, and alkaline treatment—affect spectral behavior and model accuracy, highlighting their importance for refining quantification when high-purity inputs are needed. By identifying current limitations and potential sources of errors, this study provides a foundation for improving NIR-based models. Full article

Hydrogels, especially Polyvinyl alcohols, have received extensive attention as alternative materials for articular cartilage. Aiming at the problems such as low strength and poor toughness of polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels in practical applications, an enhancement and modification strategy is proposed. Sodium alginate fibers were introduced into polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel network through physical blending and freezing/thawing methods. The prepared composite hydrogels exhibited a three-dimensional porous network structure similar to that of human articular cartilage. The mechanical and tribological properties of hydrogels have been significantly improved, due to the multiple hydrogen bonding interaction between sodium alginate fibers and polyvinyl alcohol. Most importantly, under a load of 2 N, the friction coefficient of the PVA/0.4SA hydrogel can remain stable at 0.02 when lubricated in PBS buffer for 1 h. This work provides a novel design strategy for the development of high-performance polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels. Full article

Disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier is a key driver of gut-derived inflammation in various disorders, yet strategies to preserve or restore barrier integrity remain limited. To address this, we evaluated a four-strain Bifidobacterium mixture—selected for complementary anti-inflammatory potency and industrial scalability—in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged RAW 264.7 macrophages and a Caco-2/THP-1 transwell co-culture model. Pretreatment with the probiotic blend reduced nitric oxide (NO) release in a dose-dependent manner by 25.9–48.3% and significantly down-regulated the pro-inflammatory markers in macrophages. In the co-culture system, the formulation decreased these markers, increased transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) by up to 31% at 10⁵ colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL after 48 h, and preserved the membrane localization of tight junction (TJ) proteins. Adhesion to Caco-2 cells (≈ 6%) matched that of the benchmark probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, suggesting direct epithelial engagement. These in vitro findings demonstrate that this probiotic mixture can attenuate LPS-driven inflammation and reinforce epithelial architecture, providing a mechanistic basis for its further evaluation in animal models and clinical studies of intestinal inflammatory disorders. Full article

The intersection of green finance and artificial intelligence (AI) represents a rapidly emerging and high-impact research domain with the potential to reshape sustainable economic systems. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric and network analysis aimed at mapping the scientific landscape, identifying research hotspots, and highlighting methodological trends at this nexus. A dataset of 268 peer-reviewed publications (2014–June 2025) was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, filtered by the Business Economics category. Analytical techniques employed include Bibliometrix in R, VOSviewer, and science mapping tools such as thematic mapping, trend topic analysis, co-citation networks, and co-occurrence clustering. Results indicate an annual growth rate of 53.31%, with China leading in both productivity and impact, followed by Vietnam and the United Kingdom. The most prolific affiliations and authors, primarily based in China, underscore a concentrated regional research output. The most relevant journals include Energy Economics and Finance Research Letters. Network visualizations identified 17 clusters, with focused analysis on the top three: (1) Emission, Health, and Environmental Risk, (2) Institutional and Technological Infrastructure, and (3) Green Innovation and Sustainable Urban Development. The methodological landscape is equally diverse, with top techniques including blockchain technology, large language models, convolutional neural networks, sentiment analysis, and structural equation modeling, demonstrating a blend of traditional econometrics and advanced AI. This study not only uncovers intellectual structures and thematic evolution but also identifies underdeveloped areas and proposes future research directions. These include dynamic topic modeling, regional case studies, and ethical frameworks for AI in sustainable finance. The findings provide a strategic foundation for advancing interdisciplinary collaboration and policy innovation in green AI–finance ecosystems. Full article

Cellulose acetate (CA), commercially produced from natural cellulose, is one of the promising candidates to solve the microplastic issue. In this study, attempts were made to prepare CA microparticles by means of melt extrusion of incompatible polymer blends comprising CA with plasticizer (triacetin (TA)) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) followed by selective removable of TA and PVA. As implied by semi-theoretical equation previously established by Wu (Wu’s equation), particle size decreased with increasing shear rate or decreasing viscosity ratio of polymers. CA microparticles with a controlled size of 2–8 μm, narrow particle size distribution, and smooth surface were successfully obtained. Efforts were made to determine the numerical solution of Wu’s equation to compare them with observed particle size. To this end, interfacial tension between dispersed and matrix phases to be incorporated in the equation was determined by group contribution methods. The root mean squared error (RMSE) between the observed and calculated particle size was unsatisfactorily large, 4.46 μm. It was found that one of the possible reasons for the limited prediction accuracy was migration of TA from the dispersed to matrix phase affecting the viscosity ratio. Further efforts will be required to achieve a better prediction. Full article

Compared with biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and mechanical properties, the poor injectability of calcium phosphate bone cements (CPCs) is always ignored, which actually hinders the development of CPC clinical transfer in minimally invasive orthopedic surgeries. Moreover, currently, CPC preparation in the clinic is labor-intensive and requires well-trained technicists, which might also result in the unstable quality of CPCs. In this work, we focused on three research objectives: (i) introducing a standardized preparation method for CPCs; (ii) studying the effects of preparation parameters on CPC injectability and compressive strength; and (iii) studying the injecting condition effects on CPC injectability, aiming to overcome CPCs’ disadvantages in minimally invasive surgeries. Firstly, two strategies, named “variable mixing barrel control (VMBC)” and the “nested blade–baffle stirring rod (NBBSR)”, were proposed in this study to solve the problems in the preparation of CPCs, which involved blending CPC powder and an agent to generate a paste, by enhancing the mixing performance and mimicking human manual stirring actions. Secondly, although the grinding parameter could significantly generate differences in the microstructure of CPCs, the compressive strength remained relatively stable. However, it was found to significantly affect the injectability of CPCs, leading to the inefficient injection of CPCs. Finally, the effects of syringe design, dimensions, and injecting conditions on CPC injectability were studied, and the results showed that the optimization of these factors enables the injection of CPCs, which has otherwise always been infeasible to implement in minimally invasive orthopedic surgeries. Full article